Hi! My name is Fernando Chavez-Sandoval, and my love for cooking began in my early teen years as a means to bring my family and friends closer together. As I grew into adulthood, I quickly knew I wanted to professionally pursue the culinary industry. Being an immigrant in a new and exciting culture, I wanted to grab and hold onto the American Dream. Understanding that takes dedication and hard-work, I snatched my first job as a dishwasher at the locally renowned Gateway Grille in Kamas, Utah. I wanted to know everything about how the restaurant world works inside and out, and the only way to do that was starting at the bottom and working my way upward. Over the next decade, I worked aside multiple restaurant and catering companies in the Park City and Deer Valley areas and absorbed every bit of knowledge I could from every chef I have been so lucky to stumbled upon. As a Line Cook, I worked my way up to Sous Chef and then Head Chef and eventually Executive Chef.

 

Well over a decade in the restaurant industry, I was blessed with the opportunity of meeting a wonderful family that wanted to start an artisan cheese-making business. Alan and Debbie Gold approached me in 2009 to help them pursue a high-quality cheese in the midst of the overpopulated mass cheese production industry. It was our goal from the beginning to place quality over quantity, and therein make the best and most delicious cheese we could. That same year we launched Gold Creek Farms. In my first three years of cheese-making, I was able to accomplish the most prestige award of 1st in class at the World Champion Cheese Competition (WCCC) in 2012 (http://wccc.myentries.org/contest/results/?event=55&eventClass=287). From there, I am humbled and proud to say we have been so blessed in earning multiple awards with the American Cheese Society and the United States Champion Cheese Competition in addition to a few more with the WCCC.

 

 

My wife of 15 years, Ashley Erin, also has an extensive background in the culinary industry but majored in accounting in college. Loving accounting, but also desiring a break from the tedious work it entails, she wanted to find a healthy balance between her two loves of food and numbers. While contemplating this need for balance, one day she said to me, "Hey! Why don't we get into the private chef business? You LOVE making cheese, and I love accounting... but we can also feed our desire to cook at the same time!" Keep in mind, we only had one child (our oldest, Phillip) at the time, so I jumped right on board with this crazy idea of us both having full-time jobs and then taking on our own private chef business. Adding on Luci and our baby (Elise), we now have three kids, two full-time jobs, and our private chef business, and somehow we balance and love it all! This is truly our American dream, and we wouldn't give up any piece of it for the world. 

 

Starting Artisan Private Chef has granted me the ability to expand my creativity with food and adapt to new food trends and the evolution of diets throughout the years. I have been so blessed to have the opportunity to cook anything from classic French cuisine to more modern dishes that use science to replicate foods like dairy, eggs, gluten. My career has blessed me with the opportunity to cook for presidents, political figures, CEO’s, business professionals, famous sports figures, celebrities, and so many other amazing people whom have truly placed an imprint on my career and life. Each and every event is exciting and I consider a blessing to add onto my culinary experience. Loving both cooking and food so much, I can truly say I have found my niche in life. I truly hope I get the opportunity to cook for you, too!

 

However, if you are not ready to book a private chef at this time, I encourage you to try our delicious cheese in the meantime: 

https://goldcreekfarms.com/product/quarterly-cheese-club/